Voluntariness and the bounds of cost-benefit analysis

Sugden, Robert (2023) Voluntariness and the bounds of cost-benefit analysis. Behavioural Public Policy. ISSN 2398-063X

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Abstract

Behavioural economists often claim that their policy recommendations are justified by cost-benefit analysis (CBA), but without adequate explanation of the methodology they have in mind. I sketch the outlines of a CBA methodology that is compatible with the findings of behavioural economics and is in accord with my account in Sugden (2018) of a well-functioning market as a network of opportunities for mutually beneficial transactions. The key idea is that the CBA of a project is concerned only with effects that are not transmitted through voluntary interactions. I illustrate this proposal by considering the appraisal of fuel economy mandates.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: cost-benefit analysis,behavioural economics,voluntary interaction,regularisation,fuel economy mandate,economics, econometrics and finance(all) ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2000
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Economics
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 31 Jan 2023 10:30
Last Modified: 09 Mar 2023 15:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/90882
DOI: 10.1017/bpp.2023.7

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